1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to a side-by-side refrigerator including laterally spaced fresh food and freezer compartments, each having upper and lower storage sections of differing widths and a substantially uniform width door.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In a conventional side-by-side refrigerator, freezer and fresh food compartment doors align along a vertically extending divider wall or mullion, with the mullion extending in a single plane essentially from the top to the bottom of the refrigerator. Although this style of refrigerator has certain advantages over top-mount refrigerators wherein the freezer compartment is arranged vertically above the fresh food compartment, certain disadvantages are also presented. For instance, since the opening provided in a household kitchen for both side-by-side and top-mount style refrigerators is essentially standard, top-mount refrigerators typically have wider shelves in each of the fresh food and freezer compartments as compared to corresponding shelves in a side-by-side refrigerator.
For this reason it is often difficult, if not impossible, to accommodate rather wide food items, such as trays, cake pans, platters, turkeys and the like, on a given shelf in the fresh food compartment of a side-by-side refrigerator, while the same item(s) could be readily placed on corresponding shelves in a top-mount refrigerator. The same is true with respect to the width of freezer shelves. For example, it is often difficult to store frozen pizza and other large food items widthwise in a side-by-side refrigerator freezer compartment, while such items can be easily arranged in a freezer compartment of a top-mount refrigerator. To compensate for this disadvantage, it is not uncommon for owners of side-by-side refrigerators to purchase a second refrigerator for additional food storage space. Similar comparisons could be made between side-by-side and bottom mount refrigerators.
Alternatively, a side-by-side refrigerator can be constructed, as demonstrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,447, having fresh food and freezer compartments of varying widths. In this manner, a consumer can arrange larger width items in a larger width area of the refrigerator, while small width items can be placed on shelves located in a narrower or standard width section. In order to maintain a temperature within each of the varying width compartments, the refrigerator illustrated in the '447 patent includes fresh food and freezer doors having varying widths that correspond to the widths of the fresh food and freezer compartments. As such, each of the fresh food and freezer doors includes first and second inner longitudinal portions interconnected by a laterally offset section.
The refrigerator constructed in accordance with the '447 patent evinces advantages of top and bottom mount refrigerators, e.g. wider available storage spaces, into a side-by side model. However, this novel design may not be pleasing to every type of consumer. Many consumers have grown accustomed to seeing a vertical split or division between the doors on a side-by-side refrigerator. The laterally offset split of the '447 refrigerator is quite distinct and, perhaps too modern for the tastes of some consumers. Thus, if the consumer is unwilling to accept the modern appearance, that consumer will be unable to take advantage of many features of a side-by-side refrigerator having varying width compartments.